Red-Barracuda Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man (they sure don't make films with awesome titles like this anymore) is a poliziotteschi directed by none other than Ruggero Deodato, the man who would deliver two of the most uncompromising, relentlessly mean-spirited exploitation movies ever in 1980, namely the still notorious Cannibal Holocaust and the depraved sleaze-fest House On the Edge Of the Park. Deodato was a man who never shied away from extremity in his movies and so it was with some interest I went into this one, particularly seeing as the Italian poliziotteschi genre is one hardly renowned for its restraint or political correctness in the first place. Well, I think it would be only fair to say that Deodato has once again delivered a tough genre film, full of excessive violence. Except in this case, and unlike those two infamous movies I mentioned before, the fun factor is considerably higher here as the levels of mean-spiritedness are noticeably lower.Aside from Deodato at the helm, this one benefits enormously from having Fernando di Leo as its screenwriter. I think it would be fair to say that di Leo is the king of this particular sub-genre and has several outright classics under his belt as director. His input, therefore, is always going to be a significant bonus. It would probably be fair to say that the screenplay to this one is less thoughtful than the ones he used for his own films but it still nevertheless gets us from A to B in a highly entertaining fashion. This is one of many Italian cop films which followed the basic template laid down by the international hit Dirty Harry (1971), in that it features the use of brutal police tactics used to sort various low-life criminals out. Other Italian films used this idea, such as Umberto Lenzi's Violent Naples (1976) but where that film had one violent cop, this one has two! They go through the picture killing and torturing criminals, endangering the general public and indulging in sexist behaviour at every given opportunity. These guys work for the special squad section of the Rome police department and the film is basically made up of a number of different encounters they have with various criminals.Events kick off with no messing about with a great extended motorcycle chase through the scenic streets of Rome, later the boys use their special brand of force against violent criminals holding an unfortunate woman hostage in her home, they also take out a group of thieves before they can even attempt to commit the crime in question and later dispatch a variety of gangsters in a quarry shootout. In other words, this is good violent fun, poliziotteschi style. The manner that these cops deliver their unorthodox brand of violent justice is so casually delivered and at no point in proceedings does anyone truly question their methods, aside from the occasional light ticking off from their superior. But let's be honest, it's this complete lack of any political correctness whatsoever that is a significant part of what makes Italian cop thrillers such fun nowadays – they don't make them like this anymore that's for sure! If you could imagine a parallel universe where 'Starsky and Hutch' were nihilistic police officers who blow up cars on purpose, have threesome sex with suspects and break the necks of criminals for the hell of it, then it would be something not far off Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man. You've just got to love the Italians.

Comeuppance Reviews Alfredo (Porel) and Antonio (Lovelock) are cops and partners assigned the tough jobs in Rome. Their captain, known simply as "The Captain" (Celi) is caught in a bind: he knows about their reckless and violent ways, but he can't deny they get results. So he tolerates them, as does Norma (Dionisio), The Captain's secretary. So he designates the two men as a "special squad", which allows them pretty much free reign in Rome, which means not just legal rules, but perhaps even moral ones are broken. The rest of the movie is almost like a series of vignettes as they go to different crime scenes and solve the problem in their own inimitable no-mercy, no-prisoners, no-conscience, no-problem style. These situations range from a hostage showdown to an illegal gambling ring, and beyond. It all comes to a head as our two anti-heroes finally confront a crime boss named Pasquini (Salvatori) on his yacht. Will living this type of lifestyle finally catch up to Alfredo and Antonio? Find out today! Here we have noted director Ruggero Deodato's entry in the Poliziotteschi sweepstakes of the day. So you'd have to figure Mr. Cannibal Holocaust (1980) himself would turn in a particularly hard, violent, brutal and uncompromising entry. And you'd be right. There is certainly a strain of nihilism that runs through Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man, and it's not to everyone's taste. Especially since the tone of the movie and the actions of the characters are so alien and unfamiliar to American audiences of today. We're so unused to seeing behavior like this on screen, it's hard to know what to think. While no doubt an acquired taste, Deodato was simply reflecting what was going on in Italy at the time and, presumably, his rage about the conditions in society then, especially as it relates to crime.Moral considerations aside, there's plenty for genre fans to enjoy here, such as the insane motorcycle setpiece at the beginning of the film (which provides a killer kickoff to all that we're about to see - letting viewers know this is no run of the mill crime drama), as well as other well-staged and well-shot violent moments. From the title on down, you know that you're in macho territory here. While it may be in dispute whether that's Deodato subtly mocking (Italian?) machismo, or he's legitimately going for it, the movie delivers the goods nonetheless, from start to finish. Ray Lovelock himself sings the Bob Dylan-like songs on the soundtrack, and the movie works on at least two levels: as a comment on the society of the time and the behavior of men, or simply as a violent actioner. It doesn't take much to read into the movie just a tad, and the fact that you never really root for and get totally behind Alfredo and Antonio is most likely not an accident. It's probably more an indicator that there may be more brewing beneath the surface.Released on DVD by Raro, Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man may not be for everyone, but viewers will see a movie ahead of its time, and a Poliziotteschi that will make you think. We recommend it.

haildevilman Ruggero made every cops fantasy here.Ray Lovelock and Marc Porel (RIP and WAY too young) play a couple of plods on an elite part of the squad. And you know what THAT means.They cruise around on motorcycles basically clipping anyone who even gives them a fishy eye. Catch a guy trying to steal a purse? Beat him senseless. Then shoot him. The man to man violence was over OTT.Then there's the sex. Of course they get to bed many loose women. The kind of loose women that seem to be all over Rome in these kind of flicks. Although that's the big city. Tokyo? The same.And the chief is one of those "I see nothing" types. Until he has no choice.Chase scenes, shootings, fistfights, 70's waka-waka guitar and haircuts, it's there ad infinitum.Porel died too soon. He was good looking enough where he could have had a real career. Lovelock was doing his usual.Hard to find, but if you do, it's worth a gander.

Blaise_B This one really pushes the envelope on "ends justify the means" police tactics, even compared to the other Italian cop-thrillers I've seen. The two protagonists are cops who belong to an "anti-gang" squad...that means, in this case, that they actually act like gangsters. They're nihilistic, sexist a-holes. They like blowing things up for fun. They shoot criminals BEFORE they commit crimes. A gangster wants them out of the picture and has one of their colleagues shot; from there on, they actively engage in gang warfare. That's the plot.The dialog is not at all clever. The premise is set up lazily and has no authenticity to it. The musical score is light-weight, typical 70's cop-thriller fare.It's consistently entertaining, however. Whether laughing out loud or gasping in shock, I was never bored. There's plenty of eye-popping violence on a level with "Violent Naples" to satisfy fans in that department. The ending is very abrupt, surprising, and cool; it gives the whole rest of the movie a darker tone.I definitely recommend it to fans of violent, Italian cop-thrillers from the 1970's, or any violent cop-thrillers from the 1970's, or good, trashy movies in general.